Title - Railgate may throw projects off track

New Delhi: The scam of fixing posts of Railway Board members and Pawan Kumar Bansal’s ouster from the Railway Ministry may have a negative impact on the overall working of the public sector behemoth, which for years has been trying to unshackle itself from the influence of its political bosses.The Railways, one of the most important ministries, had landed in the lap of the Congress after decades, raising hopes of it getting rid of political interference and getting back on the path of recovery from the financial mess it has been for the past few years.Even now, the ministry remains with the Congress with CP Joshi being asked to take additional charge, but the “railgate” and its emerging consequences only reflect the rot that has set in and the uphill task ahead of the new minister to cleanse the organisation of the same.The immediate consequence of the scam, which involves a Railway Board member willing to pay Rs 10 crore as bribe to Bansal’s nephew to get a posting where he would have controlled Rs 50,000 crore, will be that all modernisation projects in the Railways will come to a standstill.With the seven-member Railway Board, the highest decision-making body in the ministry, under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), officials at all levels will have a second thought about clearing projects or approving any schemes. There is a sense of disbelief at the Rail Bhawan, with officials not willing to discuss issues.

They point out that the immediate effect will be on the operational front as many important projects at crucial stages will now get stuck.

The fallout

The immediate effect will be on the operational front as many important projects at crucial stages may get stuck The private sector may also stay away from getting involved with railway projects